


A Mouse Is Still A Type of Vermin

by Writing_Like_Ill_Die



Series: Luci’s Inktober 2020 [6]
Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Arson, Bathing/Washing, Crimes & Criminals, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Gang Violence, Gangs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marijuana, Moral Dilemmas, Morally Ambiguous Character, Recreational Drug Use, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27029746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_Like_Ill_Die/pseuds/Writing_Like_Ill_Die
Summary: Prompt: RodentSusie stared up at the perfect house with a perfect lawn and a perfect garden. Inside there were perfect parents and their perfect daughter. Their perfect daughter, quiet as a mouse. Their mousy, perfect little rodent. Even though they dressed her up for others, behind closed doors they knew that Susie was still a mouse, which is just a type of vermin. And they treated her accordingly.Call it a moment of insanity. A temporary break from reality. But the next thing Susie knew, the perfect house was bursting into flames.OR: Susie set a fire.
Relationships: Frank Morrison & Susie, Joey & Susie, Joey/Julie/Frank Morrison/Susie
Series: Luci’s Inktober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1962550
Kudos: 28





	A Mouse Is Still A Type of Vermin

Sticks and stones can break your bones, is what they said. And sure, maybe that was right. But words not hurting? Never hurting? That was bullshit.

No one knew that better than Susie. Her parents had mastered the violent art of slicing her to pieces with their words and leaving her in broken pieces. They made her scared of everything, of everyone. They made her lose her trust in herself. Made her terrified of making decisions. At least one a week, she found herself in her pajamas, riding her bike in the dead of the night to Frank’s house and knocking on the window. She would be either in tears or close to it, but Frank would take her in and comfort her all the same. He would tell her she was right, talk her through panic attacks, make her remember that she was not a failure, she was Susie, she was brilliant, and one day she might be Susie Morrison.

It got worse the closer she got to adulthood. As it got worse, she spent less time at home, and more time at the gang’s lodge. The more they screamed, the more they tried to kill her spirit, the more she hardened and grew into someone who was all too willing to commit crimes.

She still had a guilty conscience, though it wasn’t a very big one, and she was still unsure. The world couldn’t be completely corrupt. In her parents, at least, there had to be good.

And that’s why she kept coming back. Only to be disappointed time and again. She had run back to the lodge in the dead of the night after one night with her parents. She was sobbing and crying and panicking and simply had no idea what to do. She couldn’t even recognize what was going on around her, until a blunt was pressed to her lips, and she sucked in a breath—

Frank’s worried face stared back at her. Her thoughts were calm now, and the room stunk of weed. Julie and Joey were next to her, waiting for her reaction. Susie sobbed, and shot into Frank’s arms, seeking comfort. The three surrounded her, and she relaxed and cherished the familiar warmth and smells of the three she loved so much. They would take care of her.

The lodge had a huge jacuzzi in the master bathroom, and it was just enough room for four teens. Frank, Julie, and Joey set to running the bath and pampering their girl. They tossed in a bath bomb and got out the fancy soaps and spa stuff. It was their own little ritual for calming her down. And it helped. To be in the water, to smell the sweet scents and have her skin scrubbed clean, it helped her cope. Frank kept the blunt nearby whenever she started to relapse back into panic.

“Wanna talk about it, Suze?” Julie asked while massaging her girlfriend’s scalp, washing her pink tipped hair out with gentle care.

“...They said I was a whore because I was spending the night with Frank and Joey so much.” Susie finally admitted.

“Aight. I’m going to kill them.” Frank had been massaging her feet, but now he looked ready to jump out of the bath and kill Susie’s parents while still in the buff. Knowing Frank’s near obsessive loyalty to the three of them, it wasn’t a completely unrealistic concept.

“Don’t. It’s... fine.” Susie tried to soothe, but even she sounded unconvinced.

“It’s not, though.” Joey piped up. “They treat you like shit. You deserve better than that.”

Susie bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She wasn’t sure if she deserved better. Not now.

They all piled into one bed, surrounding her and holding her tight. Susie drifted off, but she kept waking up in panics. Eventually she couldn’t sleep anymore. So she carefully untangled herself from her loves, put on some clothes and her mask, grabbed a lighter and a blunt, and went walking.

No one would bother a girl with a mask. No one was around at this time anyway. A few cars, but for the most part it was dead quiet and lonely as hell. She took a night bus to a bus stop near her house, and the bus driver stayed wisely silent. She walked the rest of the way, trying to keep herself calm, taking occasional hits of the blunt.

Susie stared up at the perfect house with a perfect lawn and a perfect garden. Inside there were perfect parents and their perfect daughter. Their perfect daughter, quiet as a mouse. Their mousy, perfect little rodent. Even though they dressed her up for others, behind closed doors they knew that Susie was still a mouse, which is just a type of vermin. And they treated her accordingly.

Her parents’ voices tormented her at all times. Every time she tried to come home, they tormented her for real. They made her feel like she was nothing. Like that’s all she would ever be. An ungrateful mouse, hanging around with nasty rats.

She took a draw of her blunt, letting the smoke calm her mind. It was almost gone. She stared at the stub. At the lighter in her hand.

Call it a moment of insanity. A temporary break from reality. But the next thing Susie knew, she was splashing lighter fluid across the house’s wooden exterior. A big line across the front. With the little bit left in her lighter, she held the flame to the wall and watched as the house burst into flames.

And then she ran before anyone saw her.

She climbed back into bed after undressing. Her crew was still asleep, and pulled her closer when she returned.

“Where did you go, babe?” Frank rasped, voice husky from sleep.

“Don’t worry about it.” Susie lied, pressing her lips to his briefly. He grunted and wrapped around her, making further movement impossible. But that was fine by Susie.

—

“Did you hear?! That poor Susie girl’s house got burned down by that Legion gang!”

Susie had never been more glad for the anonymity her mask offered. No one connected her with the fire. Only the masked figure they saw running away. It was tense, though, between her and her loves. She knew she would have to talk eventually.

She was almost afraid of their words. Afraid of what they’d think.

Joey pinned her to the wall as soon as they got home.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Frank asked, as the three surrounded her. Susie felt ashamed.

“We could have helped.” Frank continued. The shame went away, and Susie looked up at them. They weren’t angry. They just wanted her to be happy.

Susie laughed for the first time in forever.


End file.
